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Ben Finn
Ben Finn is a soldier in the Swift Brigade of the Albion Royal Army under the command of Major Swift, and an ally to the Hero of Brightwall in Fable III. He has a very strong connection with Major Swift, who is much like a father figure to Ben. As a member of the "Old Guard" and due to his connections to Major Swift, he is marked as a traitor by King Logan. Early Life Benjamin Finn was born in the small hamlet of Gunk, Ben being the youngest of four children. Throughout most of his life, Ben has never truly felt at home anywhere. Raised by his shop-keeping parents, who often struggled to buy shoes for Ben and his brothers and put food on the table, Ben and his brothers had to find other sources of sustenance, money and entertainment. Despite his small hands, Ben was never as good as his brothers in the boys' main source of income: pickpocketing. Ben believes that this ineptitude was due in part to the fact that he recognized the immorality of pickpocketing, even at age eight. Instead, Ben earned money as a street performer, standing in the town square telling jokes and falling over repeatedly. Even though his jokes were crude, he believed the work to be honest - or at least it would have been had his brothers not taken the opportunity to rob the distracted villagers blind. Because of his help in getting them their ill-gotten gains, on his eleventh birthday his brothers bought him a beautiful pellet gun, which he saw as the greatest gift he had ever received. It was with that pellet gun that Ben discovered his second talent: a rather surprising accuracy with firearms. It was not long after he discovered this fact that his brothers put his talent to "good" use. His brothers would set up a fair booth in which they challenged all comers to pit their target practice skills against Ben's. After fleecing all the locals, they soon had to rely on traders, passers-by and the occasional neighbouring villagers, out of which more often than not they would have been run out by the authorities.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JBzqobd1d8 While his accomplices spent or gambled most of their earnings, Ben saved every gold coin he could so that he could one day fulfil his burning desire to explore Albion and become a great adventurer like the ones he read about in two-penny pamphlets and third-hand story books. More than anything, he wanted to meet Heroes, even though he knew that their heyday had long since passed and that the ageing ruler of the kingdom was the last. It was the death of this hero when he was fifteen that marked the beginning of a series of tragedies that were to befall his family. His oldest brother, Jason, was killed in a duel with an irate farmer that so happened to be the husband of Jason's last sexual conquest. They duelled with pitchforks, and since Jason had never done an honest days' work in his life, he made the fatal mistake of holding his pitchfork the wrong way. Shortly after Jason died, Ben's second oldest brother William was arrested for trying to run a con game on the wrong person (a passing plain clothes town guard). William was taken to Bowerstone and was never heard from again. Ben's third brother, Quentin, accumulated enough gambling debts to have a price put on his head. Ben remembers Quentin's death most clearly since he was unfortunate enough to witness it. When the assassins and bounty hunters came in to collect, Ben did what he could to protect Quentin, but no matter how accurate Ben's shots were from his rifle, it didn't change the fact that he was shooting peas instead of bullets (as he had never been able to afford a real rifle). It was no surprise to him when his mother died next, grief stricken by the loss of her three sons. Ben's mother left his father a drunken widower (though drunk only when he could afford it, poverty making his attempts to drown his sorrows harder). Even though Ben did what he could to help out in his father's shop, employing all his wit and charm to become a highly persuasive salesman. It was obvious that there wasn't much of a market for novelty toothbrushes in such a small village, especially one that made such an effort to avoid any form of oral hygiene. Soon enough, Ben's father passed away (far more sober than he would have liked). It was then Ben resolved to leave Gunk for good, and to seek his fortune and adventures in the kingdom of Albion.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b67a09rtR8M With what little gold he had saved in his youth now gone (having to spend it all on the quick succession of funerals and having to pay off his brother's gambling and business debts), he left his so-called home as penniless as he had entered it seventeen years ago. Unable to pursue his dream as an explorer, he found himself gravitating towards the main cities and doing a variety of jobs. He stacked books at the Brightwall Library, absorbing as much knowledge as he could about the world from them; served drinks at the Cow and Corset in Bowerstone, after he established that his comedy routine would bring him nowhere among the more sophisticated urban crowd; and eventually managed to put his shooting skills to work as he became a bodyguard who protected traders as they travelled from town to town. It was at this point that Ben finally had a real rifle in his possession, and using it against bandits, hobbes and other enemies the trading caravans attracted felt as natural as breathing to him. The wages he earned were so superior to those he previously earned that he soon had enough gold to make his dream come true. After obtaining the supplies he would need, Ben set out to experience the adventures he'd read about since he was young, exploring every corner of Albion.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVWd9W9t65g During the next few years, Ben hunted hidden treasures and set out on dangerous quests in the same manner as the Heroes of legend. In a short time, he exhausted almost every legitimate means by which any young man could experience life at its fullest. This exhaustion coupled with the fact that he never could quite shake off his involvement (intentional or otherwise) with criminal activity led him to run with a band of smugglers that were operating out of the Bowerstone port. After a few weeks, as was inevitable, Ben ended up in Bloodstone, where he found an (until then hidden) appetite for the pleasures that only the lowest of societies could provide. Ben is embarrassed to recall the days he spent drinking, gambling, and indulging in other unsavoury pastimes, but is embarrassed further to recall the succession of women that he fell in love with (describing them as strong minded and stronger thighed). The only excuse Ben has for this behaviour is that it was in his blood, and while he had not followed his brother's examples while they lived, he celebrated their memories by following them at that point in time.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdPSBzQDHPk One balmy night, Ben boarded a motley crewed frigate while heavily drunk. Hardly pleased by the company and the profession he was forced to embrace, he looked forward to the chance to see the world that was beyond Albion (although the plundering nature of the voyage spoiled any tourism he would have otherwise enjoyed in the foreign lands they visited). Ben's impressions of such exotic locations was inextricably tied in with the images of the locals waving sharp implements in a threatening manner as the ship he was on set sail for the horizon. The next time they docked in Bowerstone with the intention of selling their wares to the black market, Ben took the chance to leave that chapter of his life behind him, with very few regrets (but quite a few cuts, bruises and monkey bites). It was there that he met a man who was to change his life for the better, and offer him a career that would give him what he longed for the most: a sense of belonging, a new family and a lawfully gained wage. It was then that Ben was about to join the Albion royal army.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBjQ3aF05qQ Sometime during his service in the army, Ben's fellow officers and enlisted men encouraged him to write a book about his life after hearing him tell stories about his years before he enlisted. Fable III Ben makes his first appearance in Mourningwood during the quest The Hollow Legion at the Mourningwood Fort. He along with Jammy instruct the prince/princess on how to operate the fort's mortar. When the hollow men enter the fort, Ben fights alongside the prince/princess, Walter, Major Swift, and the remaining soldiers that are at the fort. When the hollow men are defeated and Major Swift asks the prince/princess to restore honor to the uniform, Ben adds how he wishes for a pay raise. Ben is later seen before the The Masquerade quest, telling Page how he killed three hollow men with one shot. She tells him that she doesn't care, to which he tries to get Walter and the Hero to tell her that it really happened. When she tells the Hero of her plan to infiltrate Reaver's party, Ben states how he wishes to go with them. Page refuses to let him come along (saying she didn't trust soldiers and wasn't going to start with him) and orders everyone to leave so that she may change. Ben then offered to stay behind to make sure that no one would spy on her as she was getting changed, but he is told to leave once more. Disappointed, he states how 'their relationship' wasn't going to work out and if he had known he couldn't join, he'd had gone with Major Swift to the castle. Page remarks how she doesn't like soldiers in the hideout (the only exceptions being Walter and Major Swift, who had just left). It turns out that staying behind saved his life. Ben meets up with the Hero at Bowerstone Castle after it's announced that Logan was giving out an important speech. Ben is horrified to find out that Logan found out that Major Swift was aiding the Revolution. When Logan executes Swift, Ben is furious but is able to gather himself together to inform the others of what had happened to Major Swift. Back at the hideout, Page and Walter try to comfort him, Walter telling him that he died a noble death. Ben disagrees, saying that he was treated like an animal before he was killed. Walter reminds him that Major Swift didn't give any information away and managed to send them a message of where to go next. Ben goes with the Hero to a warehouse, telling the Hero that Swift taught him almost everything he knew about being a soldier. Upon gaining entry, Ben tells the Hero to 'show them what traitors are capable of'. Once they reach the docks, Ben is worried when he sees that Page isn't with Walter. After Walter tells him that she had to stay behind, they steal a boat and leave for Aurora. He, along with the Hero of Brightwall and Sir Walter, are shipwrecked in Aurora. Although separated from Walter and the Hero, fortunately he is found by Kalin and taken to the City of Aurora. At first he believes the Hero and Walter to be dead, but after realizing that he was being stupid, he used his wit and charm to convince Kalin to send a search party to look for the player and Sir Walter. After the Hero gets overwhelmed by The Crawler's darkness, he later finds the player along with the nearly dead Sir Walter. The player awakes in the desert to Ben hovering just inside their vision. He reassuringly pats the player's hand, telling them that he'll find Walter. Kalin then takes the Hero to the City of Aurora. After both recover, Ben joins them on they way to the assault on Bowerstone Castle. After the Revolution, when Logan is put on trial, Ben, now the Major's successor, wishes for him to be executed for the way Swift was murdered. After the final battle against the Crawler, he joins Walter's funeral service, employing his typical chatty sense of humour in honouring Walter. Afterwards he leaves, saying that the life of being a General wasn't for him and that he will return to adventuring, or "help Page with Bowerstone" and is replaced by an unknown successor. Fable: Blood Ties Taking place after the events of Fable III, Ben has gotten the urge to travel once more. Instead of having Page join him on his adventure, he is instead being followed by 'a troublesome toadstool of a gnome' that will neither leave him alone or stop talking. Ben travels to the walled in city of Blackholm, which is under attack by a mysterious warlord who has been slowly devouring the surrounding lands. Blackholm is putting up a fight, which Ben finds to be the perfect place for a drifting warrior to go and earn some money. But a darkness that no mortal can withstand is about to be unleashed. And it holds a secret that is bound within Ben's very blood... Notes *He is voiced by Simon Pegg. *Ben Finn's sword model looks exactly like the Wreckager, the legendary cutlass from Fable II. His rifle model is that of a Steel Flintlock Rifle. He also has what appears to be a Steel Flintlock Pistol holstered on his left side and is never seen using it. *Simon Pegg described him as a "man who wants to do the right thing but is constantly sucked back into criminality". *He's very skilled in ranged combat, and almost exclusively uses his gun during fights. *As a major NPC, he cannot be married. *A portrait furniture piece of Ben Finn can be won from the Mourningwood Fort mortar mini-game if you score higher than 2000 points, after getting the legendary weapon award. *On his wanted poster, he is labelled as a coward and a traitor, and is wanted for treason. *Ben is a Captain in the Albion royal army. *Ben has a story about hitting three hollow men with one shot. This is likely a reference to the Fable II achievement "The Sharpshooter", where the Hero must shoot three enemies with a single shot. *Ben and Major Swift are the only characters seen equipped with two ranged weapons. *Despite being a Captain, Ben seems to be a poor tactician. This can be observed twice: when he and the Hero attempt to gain entry into a guarded warehouse and when the leaders of the rebellion are formulating their plan to attack Bowerstone Castle. It can be argued that this may not be the case: the former he didn't even have a plan in the first place and may have merely wanted to get into a fight to avenge Major Swift, and the latter he claims to have only suggested his plan just to annoy Page. *According to Walter, Ben is a strong swimmer. *In his book, he mentions that he instantly had a talent at firearms, even as a child. This may indicate Heroic blood, specifically in the Hero discipline of Skill. *There is sometimes a glitch in Mourningwood Fort where Ben's hands appear to be holding a rifle but the rifle is strapped on his back. *During the final battle, Ben can be seen in one of the houses after defeating the first Dark Guardian. He's seen in waving at the hero through the window. *During the Mourningword Fort attack he may yell "Take that you undead zombie!" This is one of the many references to in-game scholars arguments that hollowmen aren't zombies. *After Ben leaves the room from Page's masquerade idea, if the hero stands near him for more then an hour he will say "You know, Page is pretty fiery..." ''then "Oh, your still here? Shouldn't you be with my lo...I mean! Our wonderful rebel leader...of course."'' *Due to the number of women he has slept with, Ben believes that there may or may not be "a bunch of little Finns running about". Quotes "Elite soldiers, my arse. Have that!" "Does nobody listen to orders anymore?" when Lieutenant Simmons is resurrected "He has to be stopped! No matter what it takes! He has to be - come on, we have to go and tell the others." to the Hero right after Major Swift is executed "We're going to show Logan just what traitors can do." To the Hero. "Taking a nap in the sun? Typical royalty. You had me worried there for a while." to the Hero after he and Kalin find him/her in the desert "Welcome to Aurora, the city of nightmares." "Always with the damn gates!" when stuck behind another gate "If only we knew some sort of tiny, crazy old man who enjoyed blowing things up..." shortly before Sabine blows away another gate with explosives "Look, I'm not one for lopping people's heads off, but we saw Major Swift executed like a bloody circus act. He deserves nothing less as far as I'm concerned." to the Hero of Brightwall, during Logan's trial "I'll stay here and make sure nobody spies on you." To Page when she asks him to leave so she can change. "I'm starting to have serious doubts about our relationship." Ben after rejected by Page. "Come on Walter, lets play a game!" after being given The Masquerade quest. "Feeble! You cant possibly say no to Feeble!" naming ideas after The Masquerade quest; this is a given reference to Fable. "How is that better than my plan?" During the meeting of the Rebellion Leaders. "Good luck in there. I hope the crown fits." "The Swift brigade fought against impossible odds, they won. The end." Category:Albion Military Category:Fable III Characters Category:Fable: Blood Ties Characters